


The World I Know

by islndgurl777



Series: give michael guerin a friend 2k19 (make that friend maria deluca) [3]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Gen, give michael guerin a friend 2k19
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 03:49:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18307595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islndgurl777/pseuds/islndgurl777
Summary: Maria narrows her eyes at the two men across the fire pit from her and says, “Let me get this straight.”Michael opens his mouth on instinct, rethinks, and shakes his head, but he’s not quick enough to hide his twitching lips.She narrows her eyes further and says, “You were about to say, ‘but I’m not’, weren’t you Guerin?”He pauses before he answers. “But I didn’t. Do you know what I call that, DeLuca? Growth."





	The World I Know

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even have any legitimate excuses anymore.
> 
> Unbeta'd. Title from Collective Soul.

Maria narrows her eyes at the two men across the fire pit from her and says, “Let me get this straight.”

 

Michael opens his mouth on instinct, rethinks, and shakes his head, but he’s not quick enough to hide his twitching lips.

 

She narrows her eyes further and says, “You were about to say, ‘but I’m not’, weren’t you Guerin?”

 

He pauses before he answers. “But I didn’t. Do you know what I call that, DeLuca? Growth.” His giddy mirth swirls around them, tinted with a touch of anxiety and a lot of Max’s uncertainty.

 

Her lips twitch in response, and she finally has to just roll her eyes and lean back in her chair. “Aliens in Roswell.”

 

The men nod and wait quietly, allowing her time to process. She watches them from behind the tinted lenses of her sunglasses as they exchange silent glances. Max’s uncertainty has mellowed into a low-key relief, while Michael’s anxiety swings between nonexistent and overwhelming.

 

“Calm down, Guerin, you’re giving me a headache.” She rubs her temples, trying to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about them from the time they were kids.

 

“Sorry,” he says, shifting slightly in his chair. When she’s quiet long enough, he jumps up and starts pacing. 

 

“It’s a lot, we know,” Max starts.

 

“I think that’s a bit of an understatement.”

 

Max nods in agreement, clenching his hands in front of himself. “Yeah.”

 

The gears in her head are finally returning to a normal speed. “How long has Liz known?”

 

Max shifts guiltily and says, “Since she got back.”

 

She lets out a loud laugh at that. “You didn’t waste any time there, did you?” Max starts to turn red and she can feel Michael’s delight in her teasing his brother. She shakes her head and says to both of them, “Why are you telling me?”

 

They exchange a look and Max raises a brow at Michael.

 

Michael rolls his eyes and sits back down, leaning forward in his chair. “We each have abilities. Max can heal. I thought, with your mom…” He splays his hands and shrugs.

 

“Oh,” she says softly, mind blanking out once again. They allow her another quiet minute to process. “How does it work?” she asks.

 

Max clears his throat and leans forward as well, a mirror of Michael. She doesn’t think either of them notices. “I don’t know, exactly. I hold my hand over a wound and I just kind of...will it to heal. Kyle might be able to tell you what it looks like from a medical standpoint.”

 

Her eyebrows shoot up and she says, “Kyle Valenti knows too? How did that happen?”

 

Michael huffs out a laugh and Max glares at him. “When I heal, I leave a mark for about a week. There was...an incident.” Maria feels an echo of terror at Max’s memory and her own heart starts beating wildly. “Liz was hurt. I healed her, and Kyle saw the mark.” There’s a lot more he hasn’t told her, but she senses it’s more out of respect for Liz’s privacy than his own.

 

She nods, unwilling to ask him to break his confidence like that. “Have you ever healed anything like this before?”

 

Max shakes his head. “I don’t use my abilities very often. They’re very...draining.” She feels a little guilt seeping out from him. “Plus, they leave a very obvious mark. It’s not exactly low-profile, which has been our main goal the last twenty years.”

 

Michael snorts and leans back. “That’s shot to hell now, though.”

 

Maria furrows her brow. “What do you mean? Who else knows?” Then, she bolts up straight in her chair, remembering a rooftop conversation from not so long ago. “Oh my God, cosmic love.” A hysterical laugh escapes her.

 

Michael’s sardonic smile drops and he stiffens, embarrassment and dread seeping from him. Max cocks his head and says, “What?”

 

Maria waves him off, shaking her head. “Nothing, nevermind.” She takes a deep breath to control her laughter and lets it out shakily. “I just made a connection that is infinitely more adorable now.”

 

Max is still confused, but he shrugs it off and asks, “Did you want to talk to Liz and Kyle about this, gather all the facts before you make a decision?”

 

She smiles and says, “Normally I’m not a ‘gather the facts and make an informed decision’ kind of woman, but I think, in this case, I’ll make an exception. I’ll swing by the hospital later, see if I can catch a moment to talk to the two of them.”

 

Max nods and stands up, rubbing his hands on his thighs. “I’ll text her and let her know you’re coming, if you want?”

 

“That would be great,” she says, standing as well. She snags his arm before he can slip by her and leans up to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you for the offer, Max. I really appreciate it.”

 

He turns red and nods, clearing his throat as he resumes walking to his jeep. She waits until he’s driving away to turn back to Michael. 

 

He’s standing on the other side of the fire pit, hands in his pockets, leaning back on his heels casually. Inside, he’s a clash of nervous-embarrassed-relieved-anxious-hesitant.

 

She rounds the fire pit and wraps her arms around his waist, leaning up on her toes so she can rest her chin on his shoulder. She only has to wait a few seconds before his arms come up to wrap around her in return. “Thank you for telling me,” she murmurs, turning her face into his neck. “And thank you for convincing your brother to help.”

 

“I didn’t--” he starts shaking his head, and she stops him by pinching his side.

 

“No more hustling me, Guerin,” she says, leaning back so she can look him in the eyes. “You try to exude prickly cactus, but I know you’re really just a marshmallow. Mr. Cosmic Love.”

 

He continues to hold her, but he tears his gaze from hers. “I can’t believe he told you that.”

 

She shrugs. “Best friends are contractually obligated to tell each other important events in our lives, especially romantic declarations of love.”

 

His heartbreak tears through her and leaves her slightly breathless, but she has enough sense to hold on when he starts to pull away. “I can’t talk about this with you, Maria.”

 

“That’s fair,” she says, nodding. “What about the other thing he told me, about you looking for your family and leaving town to find them? Given this new revelation, his distress over never seeing you again makes a little more sense. I’m a bit distressed about it too.”

 

He shifts slightly, leaning down so he can sit, but she’s not willing to let him go yet, so she keeps hold of his hand while she reaches blindly behind herself for one of the other chairs. He looks behind her, glances up again to raise an eyebrow at her, and she turns to watch as one of the chairs slides up right next to his. Her grip on his hand tightens as her eyes widen, head swinging around to him again. He shrugs, whole body loose, but his feelings are a tight string of anxiety and dread, ready to snap.

 

She drops into the chair, still holding his hand, and they sit quietly for thirty seconds before she squeezes his hand again and says, “That, later. You’re leaving?”

 

He exhales shakily. “I’m working on building a ship, using parts from the crash. It’s nowhere near done, though.”

 

“But, do you even know where--”

 

He shakes his head, seeping despair. “No.”

 

She considers what she knows of him, through growing up with him, and what she’s learned about him since their unlikely friendship began months before, including his past with Alex. She considers his prickly exterior and the way he wears his unlikely charm like camouflage, or armor. She considers the man he truly is underneath all of that bravado, and she thinks she can understand why he might want to find his previous home. His place to belong.

 

She takes a deep breath and says, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

 

His fingers twitch in hers and he looks up at her in surprise. He swallows and shakes his head. “No,” he says, voice rough. “Not right now. I’m still trying to piece things together. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to make it work.”

 

She nods and gives his hand another squeeze. “Well, if you ever do get it working, you make sure you let me know before you make any life-altering decisions.”

 

He smiles and says, “You’ll be the first, after Max and Isobel.” He’s so sincere, and it breaks her heart a little that other than his siblings, she’s the first person he’d tell; they’ve only really been friends for a couple of months.

 

The moment breaks when her phone buzzes from her pocket with a series of texts. She lets go of his hand to dig her phone out and sees Liz’s messages.

 

[From: Liz] (1:34 pm): Just got Max’s message. How are you doing?

 

[From: Liz] (1:34 pm): You need some alone time? Best friend time?

 

[From: Liz] (1:35 pm): Tequila time?

 

[From: Liz] (1:35 pm): Are you already drunk?

 

“Liz Ortecho multi-texting until she gets a response? It’s more likely than you’d think,” Michael says, leaning over to look at her phone.

 

Maria elbows him in the stomach and laughs as she texts back.

 

[To: Liz] (1:36 pm): Tequila time later. Are you and Kyle available for a drop-in? I’ve got some questions about my new friend re: if he can help my mom.

 

Michael hums. “Nice and vague. The FBI will never catch on to that.”

 

She snorts. “Shut up, Guerin, I’ve never had to code my text messages before.”

 

[From: Liz] (1:38 pm): Kyle’s not off until 4. We can meet after at my place? Or are you set on the hospital?

 

[To: Liz] (1:39 pm): Your place is fine. I’ll meet you there later.

 

She pauses and considers for a second. “Will you come with me?” He’s quiet for long enough that she looks up from her phone and sees uncertainty on his face. Underneath, he’s all nervousness and guilt. “What is it?”

 

The guilt ratchets up several notches and he clenches his fists on his thighs. “I...want to be there for you,” he starts, pained confusion permeating his feelings.

 

She frowns. “But? You’re my friend, and you have firsthand knowledge of this stuff that Liz and Kyle won’t.”

 

He shifts in his seat. “We haven’t told you everything, and I think the rest would be better coming from Liz. When I’m not there.”

 

“Okay,” she says softly. “I’ll text you later?”

 

He hesitates before nodding. “I’ll be here.”


End file.
